my bro...

 

his wife...

and fam...so great to see them this weekend!

happy {long} weekend!

favorite pastime

throw a little newspaper down,

give the boy a brush and paint, and he's a happy camper

body painting included

quiet and occupied = precious

(in more ways than one)

out of the mouth of boys

the other day xan told me, 

"daddy makes my heart so, so happy--

but you make my heart glimmer in the sun"

________________________________

i overheard a conversation between a boy (8 or so) and his dad--

"dad, can you believe (so and so) only put in a dollar, and he won $2,000??

$2,000 is alot of money, if i had that much i could buy---

(my mind immediately goes to --a death star lego set--)--and before my thought is complete

he confirms that there is a universal language of 8 year old boys--

he said --"5 death stars"--

______________________________________

the boys ruined a new candle of mine today
i was disappointed

i sent them down to the basement so i could gain some perspective
xan came up a few minutes later...
x:  "mom, are you going to kill us?"
me: "of course not, i would never kill you"
x: (running down the basement stairs) "DAVID, I HAVE GOOD NEWS, MOM ISN'T GOING TO KILL US!!!"
 that one was worth the price of my candle

{{scrumptious}}

harpers ferry

we woke up on saturday to a beautiful day and no plans

so we loaded up the car (our van is in the shop--that's another story)

and headed to harpers ferry

harpers ferry is special to me--way back in my single years,

it was the spot i'd go when i needed a quiet place to pray

we parked right at the train station, and within minutes a long train came through

you can't get much closer than this, and the boys we thrilled

moments like this are par for the course with luca these days,

and we had plenty--in this case he was mad because mark wouldn't let him run onto the track

there were large patches of recycled tire "mulch" that the boys

raced, and hopped, and rolled in

a rock skipping lesson from the expert

david got some skips-- i think he'll have his daddy's skills

we picnicked on the rocks--and watched the rafters paddle by

then the boys tried their hand fishing for river monsters

they have been so into that show lately, and were really hopeful that their

grapes and cantaloupe would attract some beasts

there were some civil war demonstrations going on--

the boys learned some cool facts from a (disinterested) reinactor

we finished up the day with some yummy ice cream

luca now eats the bottom off of cones--and then we have mess coming from both ends

he is a sight by the end

cure for a brain freeze--he claims it really works

between the river and the ice cream--

luca was such a disaster--but cute as ever

it was a great day together--

bonus was when we stopped to get some kettle corn from a road side

stand--so, so good!  

if you run into "catoctin kettle corn" in your travels--

it is so worth a stop

the big day

xan's actual birthday coincided with another special day for our family

the Race for Hope, in D.C.

 we were there to celebrate with our dear friends, the Lowes

as Matt courageously battles this awful disease

 

 

  Xan's full name {Alexander Vincent}, is in honor

of our sweet nephew, Vincent, who passed away from a brain tumor 6 years ago

we were celebrating and remembering his life, as well as that of our little friend Micah, and my childhood friend's dad, Dave as we walked

 it was inspiring and heartbreaking to see the survivors, older, and much too young--

in various stages of the fight

she is so adorable, and ran a good bit of the 5K

the cousins

the yellow balloons in the background are being carried to the front of the race by the survivors, very moving, and I still get teary when I think about the different ones I saw throughout

 my birthday boy

it was an honor to participate-- and a reminder of where our HOPE truly lies